Web sites are often complex and burdensome to navigate. For example, a web site may include many web pages, making it difficult for users to find desired information. Additionally, the content of a given web page may be difficult for a user to understand. For example, a user may not understand how to fill out a portion of a form on a web page, thereby preventing the user from moving on to subsequent portions of the form.
One conventional solution to these problems involves enabling users to chat with customer service representatives. Although users may ask questions via the chat service, customer service representatives are unable to see the web pages as viewed by the user. Accordingly, the customer service representatives can only offer generalized assistance in response to the user's questions. Further, such chat sessions are often lengthy, thereby timing out the browser session and forcing the user to re-enter information.
Another conventional solution involves using a remote desktop-sharing program such as that offered with Windows XP from MICROSOFT® Corporation. However, such programs often require the user to download large pieces of code. Additionally, most remote desktop-sharing programs provide exclusive access to only one user at a time. Therefore, such programs are not suited for offering remote assistance to users of web pages and performing other operations where simultaneous viewing of a web page would be beneficial.
Other conventional solutions utilize a server-side proxy-based approach for enabling two web browsers to simultaneously browse a web page. Such conventional solutions often require server-side configuration specific to the web pages being co-browsed. This web site-specific configuration and customization effort makes such conventional solutions relatively expensive. Thus, conventional server-side proxy-based approaches are not widely adopted for co-browsing web content.